The Story of Agriculture: ACT Training Update with Tanner Hento

Provided by Tanner Hento, Young Leader and new director of the SDSA board

Tanner Hento, Young Leader and new director of the SDSA board, pictured in the front row, 2nd from left. Lincoln Memorial Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

At first glance when watching an interview, the average person would assume the interviewer is controlling the narrative and discussion topics. After three days of formal training with the Agricultural Communications Team (ACT) in Washington D.C., I learned just the opposite.

From August 1st-3rd, I traveled back to D.C. for some formal training as part of the ACT training put on by ASA. It was an extensive two days, with the first day really diving into how to present yourself as a representative of ASA. The formal training was provided by Wixted & Company, which gave a full oversight of interviewing and presentation strategies.

One of the main messages that was conveyed was how to communicate your message effectively. More times than not, we are going to find ourselves as producers getting questioned by an agriculture friendly entity. A set list of questions will be provided, but learning how to get your message through—even if you weren’t asked directly about your message—was one of the most helpful techniques I learned. For instance, my passion is sustainability in agriculture. I live extremely close to the Missouri River, with many fond memories from my childhood and adulthood nestled within those waters. If an interviewer were to hypothetically ask me about what good I am doing to achieve sustainability, I would still answer the question directly, but I would bring home a focal point about what drives my passion. Describing the bluffs in the distance, the blue water gliding across rocks scattered across the shoreline, and the sight of a fisherman at the water’s edge hoping for a catch is something that I want to preserve for generations. This imagery is what is going to capture the audience.

Along with the interviewing techniques we learned, ASA educated us on the power of social media. People crave to understand, and agriculture isn’t excluded from that. To the producer, a video of a planter getting filled with seed or the daily feed ration getting fed to the cattle might not seem overly exhilarating, but to someone living in suburban Tallahassee, Florida, that might be the video they recall the next time they hear something negative directed towards agriculture. Our passion and love for our careers is infectious. A photo on Instagram, a tweet on Twitter, or a post on Facebook might seem menial, but it can carry more weight than imaginable.

Agriculture is a beautiful thing. The media, the suburban family states away from the nearest cornfield, and the office manager sitting next to us on the plane are the individuals we need to be conveying this to.

Agriculture has a story to tell. As producers, we need to make sure we are the ones telling the story.

TANNER HENTO

Young Leader and new director of the SDSA board